How can a calm my goldfish down and relieve stress?
I'm not trying to stop him from swimming around a lot but i just want to help it relax and relieve it's stress.
I'm not trying to stop him from swimming around a lot or anything. also, he isn't stressed overall. Just how can a calm him at temporary moments of stress
Anonymous
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Hello :)
Why is it stressed? Have you just first acclimated it to the tank? Is it a Comet Goldfish?
•Ok, well first off, make sure that your Goldfish is not stressed due to poor water quality or an illness.
•Next, is your Goldfish new? You should have acclimated it in the bag first. If not, they can go into shock. Either way, they will usually be skittish and very active while getting used to its new home.
•Comet Goldfish in particular are just very active fish.
What you can do:
If your fish is truly stressed, turn off the tank lights. Bright lights are not going to help calm down a fish. Next, you can place a towel around the aquarium to darken it further, if you really need to de-stress your fish.
If your Goldfish is not new, and you have noticed that it is just stressed out lately, make sure your take is away from a noisy area which includes music, TV, and loud people. (lol)
Good luck!
Hope this helps :)
EDIT: I'm not quite sure where Snookie is going with her "adding salt" suggestion, but just to inform you, that's not going to do anything. Salt will not calm them down.
Calla
Actually, Snookie's right on the money.
A little bit of aquarium salt is good for a stressed goldfish. It aids in gill function, adds electrolytes, good for slime coat production - which is important considering if your goldfish is stressed ich can set in very easily. A lot of goldfish keepers have salt on hand for killing or reducing parasites if the need arises or a mild tonic for stress.
Granted, moderation is the key, and the first poster hit most of the key preventives - good water quality, low traffic areas etc. But the simple fact is, a little aquarium salt will benefit a goldfish if it's stressed
Sibyl
Stress can be brought on by poor water quality, and vibrations from being kept in a high traffic area or music/television.
So keep your goldfish in an appropriately sized aquarium with heavy filtration, perform partial water changes of about 25% each week and remember to vacuum debris from the substrate, keep your fish in a low traffic area, and out of the way from stereos, television, etc.
Also, make sure that the fish has plenty of hiding places so that they feel safe in their environment.
Anonymous
Do not turn off the filter. Is your 10 gallon tank cycled? If not, the comet may be reacting to a drastic change in water quality. The 10 gallon tank is a good upgrade compared to the 2 gallon previous tank, however, it is still not adequate for your comet. He really needs something at least 20 gallons or more. ::EDIT:: If your tank has been cycling for 2 days, then you really don't want to turn off the filter. The objective of cycling is to establish a good bacterial colony that will break down ammonia to nitrites, and nitrites to nitrates. These bacteria need good aeration, and turning off the filter would be counter productive. If you don't already have one, I would recommend getting a water testing drop kit with at least tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. This will be the only way you know if/when/and how much water you need to be changing during the cycle to keep your fish healthy and alive.
?
A Small thing to add, aquarium salt (just a little) can also help fish relax. I don't know if that would harm goldfish (MAYBE SOMEONE ELSE KNOWS?) but you can look into it.